| The Public Snake
Pit
Rattlesnakes were on display in a wood-framed
plexiglass pen that measured about 24’ x 12’. There were
probably 150 snakes in the "pit," and most were piled
on top of each other in the corners. I had been standing next to
the pit for less than a minute when one of the snake handlers picked
up a rattlesnake and literally held it inches from my face, obviously
waiting for me to react. I did not. After a few seconds, the snake
turned and made a move towards the handler’s head. The man
simply dropped the snake, from five feet in the air, to the cement
floor with a loud thud. When I gasped, he said, "Oh, that didn’t
hurt him. They fall like that all the time in the wild." I
wonder if the handler actually believed this, or if he just said
it to appease me.
In fact, the most common form of mistreatment
I saw at the roundup was the continuous, intentional dropping of
rattlesnakes. Handlers would grab the snakes by their tails, the
snakes would stretch out, and then the handlers would raise the
snakes above their heads to show them off to the public. However,
as soon as the snakes made any movement, the handlers would simply
drop them from about six feet in the air, and the snakes would land
with a belly flop on the ground. Rattlesnakes are likely to be injured
in this process. Such a fall can cause severe bruising, organ rupture,
and even a broken spine. I saw two snakes that, when picked up with
snake hooks, hung at odd angles and barely moved. It appeared as
if their backs were broken. Roy Thibodeau, a snake expert with Las
Cruces Reptile Rescue, confirmed that it was quite possible for
the snakes to have broken backs as a result of being dropped. Other
forms of rough treatment included kicking snakes across the floor
to move them out of the way, and hitting at them with hats and snake
hooks to get them to strike.
The Second Snake Pit
There was a second pen full of rattlesnakes
behind the fairground building that was fashioned from four wooden
panels and a few hinges. Duct tape had been placed in the corners
to seal any gaps through which the snakes could escape. The pen
was small and not very sturdy. There were probably about 100 snakes
in this pit. There was enough traction in the corners of the pen
that the snakes could crawl up the side. Before I realized this,
I put my hand on the side of the pen. A couple minutes later, a
large rattlesnake was only about a foot away from my hand. A worker
near the pit would occasionally come over and smack the snakes with
his hat to get them to drop to the ground. Talk about an accident
waiting to happen…
The Slaughter Area
Snakes were pulled from a large
trashcan to be weighed and measured in a maintenance garage in the
back of the building. This general area also doubled as the slaughterhouse,
so snake meat could be cooked and sold to the public. Although roundup
organizers are given a temporary food service permit by the New
Mexico Environment Department, I do not see how a garage is an appropriate,
sanitary slaughter area. Snakes carry parasites and salmonella,
which can be transmitted to humans and cause severe illness if proper
precautions are not taken.
The Daredevil Show
The daredevil show took place a few times a
day. I attended once on Saturday afternoon, and there were only
about 60 people watching. The show was, for lack of a better description,
really pathetic. Snake handlers spent about 45 minutes doing "tricks"
that consisted of either harassing the snakes until they struck,
or piling snakes around pit attendants so the attendants could "escape"
without being bitten.
There was virtually no educational component
to the show, and most of the information given was incorrect. For
example, in the brief first aid discussion, it was suggested that
snakebite victims immediately use a venom extractor to keep venom
from spreading through the body. However, in scientific studies,
venom extractors have proven to be ineffective and can actually
increase tissue damage if applied improperly.1,2
At least 40% of the audience attending the daredevil
show was under the age of 12. It is unfortunate that these kids
were exposed to such amazing creatures in such a negative environment.
Not only were they misinformed about rattlesnake safety, but they
were also given the impression that is okay to remove wild animals
from nature and mistreat them for the sake of entertainment.
-------------------
APNM is currently working to end the rattlesnake
roundup portion of this weekend-long event. Please contact Wildlife Campaigns Manager, Barbara Coulter, to help stop the roundup.
If you are interested in distributing literature about the roundup,
or writing letters of opposition, let us know!
1 Bush, S.P. 2001. Immediate removal of
extractor is recommended. Annals of Emergency Medicine. 38: 607.
2Alberts, M.B., M. Shalit, F.L. Galbo.
2000. Suction as initial treatment of venomous snakebite [abstract].
Academic Emergency Medicine. 7:496.
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